View full sizeTrucks back up last summer outside the Port of Portland's Terminal 6. Longshoremen blamed the delays on mismanagement and broken equipment, but a federal judge ruled that union members staged a slowdown.Rick Bowmer/Associated Press)

Mile-long lines of trucks formed in July along North Marine Drive outside the Port of Portland's container terminal as the West Coast longshore union claimed work performed by members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

The spat involved the equivalent of just two jobs plugging, unplugging and monitoring refrigerated containers, or reefers. But members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union said the issue was far larger, challenging the union's West Coast collective bargaining agreement that they felt entitled them to the work.

The National Labor Relations Board ruled the jobs belonged to the electricians. But the longshore union continues the fight in federal court.

Separately, Port security officers represented by the longshore union threatened a strike that would have shut down three terminals. The Port backed down, giving the officers the job security they sought.

In a third dispute, longshoremen in Portland, Vancouver and the Puget Sound voted down a contract offer in December from grain terminal owners who prepared to lock out union members. The owners imposed the offer's terms anyway, and union leaders decided to fight the companies in court if necessary instead of calling a strike.

The turmoil paled in comparison to a longshore clash that closed most of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for eight days ending in early December. But in all of the disputes, the powerful longshore union fought to preserve and increase job security and jurisdiction in the face of automation and industry competition.